Tainted
by Lady Dudley
Summary: When Pam is poisoned it sets off a chain of anti-vampire events.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is a story that I've had in mind for a little while and was meant to be just a one-shot, but it exploded...I really hope it works and that you enjoy it though :) This is set after Season 3, but Sookie hasn't disappeared off to fairy land (or wherever she went). Otherwise it's pretty much where the series left off, although there is a brief reference to my story "Always On My Mind" in a later chapter (and by brief I mean 'blink and you'd miss it'). Anyways, as I said, hope you enjoy! :D  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**_Tainted_  
**

Pam was furious.

She hated Dracula Night at the best of times, but the madness that surrounded this particular year's festivities was more than she could stand.

Following Russel's public, and rather embarrassing, announcement tonight was as much about PR as it was a celebration. However, to her mind, that did not excuse Eric's irrational outburst over a mistake in the place settings, which was somehow all her fault.

Nor did it excuse the insults he had flung at her as he organised the rearrangement. His wondering aloud why he had ever changed her had been the last straw and she had stormed out of his office.

It was rare, very rare in fact, that they would ever become this angry with each other. She could feel him calling her back, but as it was more compelling than insistent she chose to ignore it.

She stalked down into the basement of Fangtasia and surveyed the room. One lowly human employee, whose name she had never bothered to learn, stood in a corner sorting through bottles of Tru Blood, eyeing her warily.

"Out," she ordered simply, sending him scampering for the exit.

She felt a small measure of satisfaction in frightening him, but not nearly enough to pacify her anger.

She eyed the bottles of Tru Blood critically, wondering whether it tasted as bad as the last time she had tried it. Deciding that she really should have an idea of what it was she was serving that evening, Pam picked up a bottle and had a taste.

If it were possible, the Tru Blood tasted _worse_ than she remembered. There was now a slightly metallic taste and…

Pam suddenly felt as though her throat was on fire and she dropped to her knees, clutching her throat as the burn slowly moved downwards.

That hadn't been just Tru Blood, someone had poisoned it with silver.


	2. Chapter 2

Eric looked up sharply from the flower decoration he had been inspecting, startling the florist who stood nervously nearby.

Something was wrong, something was very, very wrong.

It took him a few moments to get a fix on Pam's location and less than that to reach her.

He found her in the basement on her knees, hugging herself as she vomited up copious amounts of blood. He paused on the bottom step, seized by a brief moment of helpless panic before he rushed to her side.

"Drink," he ordered brusquely, dropping to his knees beside her and shoving his wrist into her face; confident that his blood would somehow make everything better.

Pam did as she was told, but she had barely taken a mouthful before she pulled abruptly away, vomiting out the blood to one side as she did so. "I can't," she said weakly as she flopped against the table, "I can't," she repeated, closing her eyes against the pain as her body convulsed and she vomited again.

Eric stared at her in horror as he noticed just how much blood surrounded her and how weak she looked. If he didn't know better he would have guessed from her sickly appearance that she hadn't 'eaten' in over a month.

"Pam, what can I do?" he asked, almost desperately as he watched her contort in pain.

"Nothing," she whispered hoarsely as the pain subsided, "there's nothing-" she was cut off as she vomited up more blood.

Eric felt blind panic begin to well up inside of him; he had no idea what he was going to do. No clue as to how to save her.

He hated feeling helpless and, when it came to Pam and her safety, he hated the feeling even more.

"I think…I think I might…" she began, struggling to get the words out.

"No," he barked, rising to his feet, "don't you _dare_. Don't you dare let this beat you, Pam, I. Will. Not. Allow. It. Losing you is unacceptable, do you understand?" he growled, his anger flaring at his inability to do anything constructive.

She gave a weak nod before grimacing and moving to lie on her side. Eric's demeanour softened as he looked at her, "What can I do?" he repeated in a gentler tone.

"I don't know," was all she said before he felt her slip away.

He punched the wall.

...

**A/N: Brief explanation about the "slipped away" thing - given they are technically dead during the day, for the purposes of this story the maker/child bond is also severed at this time. (work with me here, it's fan_fiction_ :P)**


	3. Chapter 3

Sookie Stackhouse looked around Fangtasia in amazement. The whole place had been transformed and looked more like a vampire cliché than she would have thought Eric would countenance. But then, it was one of the few holidays that vampires actually celebrated so she guessed she shouldn't have been surprised.

She started slightly when Bill appeared at her elbow.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, somehow making the question sound surprised, pleased _and_ accusing.

She squared her shoulders slightly, "I don't have to explain myself to you," she told him defensively. There was a short pause before she shrugged, "Eric invited me," she said simply.

Bill's eyes narrowed, "Why?"

"Pam seems to think it's because my telepathy makes me special," she replied smoothly, looking around.

"Of course," Bill responded, sounding a trifle disbelieving.

Sookie wasn't entirely sure how she should take his comment and changed the subject, "Where is our elusive host anyway?"

Bill shrugged, taking a sip of his Tru Blood as he looked around the room, "I have no idea. Probably going to make some grand entrance," he added bitterly.

Sookie smiled a little before she caught sight of someone familiar out of the corner of her eye. She was surprised when that person turned out to be Dr. Ludwig, who quickly disappeared down the stairs to the basement.

"What's she doing here?" Sookie asked, more to herself than her companion as she began to follow her, suddenly concerned that something might be wrong.

"Sookie, you can't go down there," Bill counselled, grabbing her wrist before she had gone too far.

"You have lost the right to give me orders, Bill Compton," she informed him icily, "you can come with me or stay up here, but you can't stop me."

Bill released her with a long suffering sigh before following her down to the basement. He was so busy grumbling to himself and admiring Sookie that he almost crashed into her when she came to an abrupt stop at the foot of the stairs.

Surprised he followed her gaze to see Eric sitting in a pool of blood, cradling a comatose Pam in his arms. Dr. Ludwig stood nearby, searching through her medical bag.

"Pam," Sookie gasped, moving instinctively forward to check on her.

She checked when Eric snarled at her, fangs bared. In the same moment Bill moved defensively to her side, but he needn't have bothered, Eric had no intention of moving. He contented himself with glaring at them both and clutching Pam closer to his chest.

"Don't touch her," he growled, "_no one_ touches her."

"That's going to make it difficult for me to examine her," Dr. Ludwig commented tartly, coming over to join him.

Eric shot her a glare but relaxed his hold on Pam, allowing her better access to examine her. "This would be easier if you let her go," Dr. Ludwig continued.

Eric's only response was a snarl.

"I'll take that as a 'no,'" Dr. Ludwig commented drily as she continued to examine Pam.

Sookie watched the examination in morbid fascination, "What happened?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Eric shot her an irritated glance, "I don't know," he said shortly.

"How-" Sookie began but Eric cut her off.

"She was down here on her own, I don't know what happened. All I know is that I found her down here, vomiting up blood and then she passed out, does that satisfy your curiosity?" he demanded.

Sookie nodded, sensing that it would not be wise to upset Eric any more than he already was. He gave her a curt nod before turning his attention back to Dr. Ludwig, watching her anxiously.

If the situation wasn't so dire Sookie was sure she would have been touched by his concern.

"Well?" he demanded once Dr. Ludwig had finished.

"Silver poisoning," Dr. Ludwig said decisively. "She seems to have ingested some," she continued before Eric could respond, she picked up the open bottle of Tru Blood and sniffed it. "This would appear to be the culprit," she added.

"Will she recover?" Eric demanded.

"She should, but it will take some time. She's very lucky," Dr. Ludwig continued, "there's enough silver in here to kill her, if she'd had more than what she did, she'd be dead," she concluded bluntly.

Sookie noticed Eric wince at the word 'dead' and tighten his hold on Pam.

"You should be able to move her, but don't expect her to regain consciousness tonight. She will be very weak for a few days and may not be able to keep anything down," Dr. Ludwig informed Eric in her best professional tone, "be patient and make sure she gets lots of rest," she advised and was gone.

Bill and Sookie turned to Eric, but he was already gone.

Sookie looked down at where he and Pam had been and noticed that the hem of her dress was soaked in blood. "Why is it I always end up with blood on me whenever I come to this place?" she asked, breaking the tension in the room.

Bill smiled half-heartedly and offered her his arm to escort her back upstairs.

"Pam will be all right won't she?" Sookie asked, taking his arm.

"You know Pam, she's too stubborn to die," Bill reassured her as they re-joined the party.


	4. Chapter 4

Eric sat on the bed next to Pam's prone form as he studied her for any sign of distress or physical injury. Due to her catatonic state their link had been severed, which had its advantages as he no longer felt her agony and he could only hope she was equally numb.

He turned away from her, resting his elbows on his knees as he held his head in his hands. Now that it appeared the worst was over he could admit to himself that he had been frightened, an emotion he had not felt in a long time.

Panicked and desperate? Yes. But _frightened_? No.

Never.

Leave it to Pam to find a way to scare him out of his wits.

He wiped at the moisture on his face and was surprised to find that he was crying. He hadn't cried since Godric died, when he last lost someone he loved.

He glanced across at Pam that was what had frightened him: that he might lose her, that for the first time in his existence he would be _alone_.

Oh, he'd have Fangtasia and he wouldn't lack companionship, either mortal or vampire. But he'd be missing a part of himself.

The loss of a child is the deepest of despair and tonight Eric had had a taste of what it would be like to lose her.

Even when she was being tortured by the Magister he had still felt in control of the situation, confident of his ability to get her out. Despite his concern for her safety, he had never feared that he would lose her.

Tonight had been completely out of his control and when he had tried to help he had only seemed to make it worse.

He made a silent promise to himself that, once she was herself again, he was going to find whoever had done this to her and kill them.

No one hurt his Pam without answering to him.

For now, though, he contented himself with crawling into bed beside her and holding her in his arms. He buried his face in her hair, trying to reassure himself that he hadn't lost her.


	5. Chapter 5

Pam opened one eye and groaned, immediately closing it again. She felt _dreadful_.

The body pressed against her in the bed shifted and she felt a slight pressure on her forehead as someone kissed her. The feeling of contentment and safety she felt could only be coming from one person, her suspicion was confirmed when her companion spoke.

"How are you feeling?" Eric asked his concern palpable.

"Terrible," she rasped.

"So you feel as good as you look then," Eric teased gently.

"Always a charmer," she replied slowly, surprised at how difficult it was to get the words out.

She felt Eric shift uncomfortably, "I…need to go to the bar, make sure everything is still standing after last night," he told her, sounding almost guilty.

"I'll be fine," Pam assured him.

"You're sure?" Eric asked, doubtful.

"Yes," Pam lied, she wasn't even sure she'd be able to open her eyes.

If he sensed she was lying, he chose to ignore it. "Is there anything I can get you?" he asked.

"No," she replied, finding one word answers to be all she could handle.

She felt him hesitate, before he kissed her forehead again, "I'll be back as soon as I can," he paused, "Dr. Ludwig said you would need to rest."

"Sounds fine with me," she replied, proud of herself for managing more than one word _and_ being able to prise her eyes open properly.

"I don't like leaving you like this," Eric admitted, looking as torn as he sounded.

"I'll be fine," she repeated, allowing her eyes to slip shut again, keeping them open had proved to be more work than she was anticipating.

She could still feel Eric's uncertainty, but he was gone within the next moment.

Once she was certain he was gone, Pam pulled the blanket up over her head.

It was going to be a long night.


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing that Sookie noted on entering Fangtasia was that Eric was…twitchy.

_Twitchy and preoccupied_, she decided as a group of Japanese tourists came to pose for a photo right in front of him (without permission) and he didn't even batted an eyelid. Sookie wondered whether it had anything to do with Pam as she made her way over to where he sat, enthroned on the small dais at the back of the room.

"Sookie, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" he asked with a half-hearted leer as she stopped at the bottom of the dais.

"I came to see how Pam was doing," she said, ignoring the leer and the small prick of pique that for the first time it hadn't seemed sincere.

A flicker of emotion that Sookie couldn't quite identify flicked across his face at the mention of Pam, "She's resting," he told her.

"That's not what I asked."

"I don't recall you actually _asking_ anything."

Sookie took a moment to remind herself that Eric was on edge and she shouldn't push him over it, no matter how much his evasiveness irked her. "Very well, is Pam recovering from last night?" she asked.

"Yes," came the reply and Sookie had to fight the urge to throttle him. "Not as well as I would like," he continued, "but I believe she is a little better."

"She must being doing fairly well for you to be here," Sookie commented innocently.

Eric's eyes suddenly flashed, "And why shouldn't I be? Pam's a big girl, she can look after herself, she doesn't need me to fuss over her," he told her.

Sookie eyed him warily, wondering if it was such a good idea to be asking after Pam in person, perhaps she should have just called, but that had seemed so impersonal…

She was broken from her musings by Eric who suddenly stood up, "Well, if that's all, I have some things I should attend to," he told her dismissively.

Sookie made a submissive gesture and he strode passed her, heading for his office. Sookie watched him go, now more concerned for Pam than she had been before coming.

…

An irritated Eric paced his office.

He had meant what he said: Pam didn't need him to fuss over her, or rather, she _shouldn't_. What was cutting him up was the guilt that perhaps she _did_ and he'd just left her.

He remembered how hurt she had been after the whole incident with the Magister that he hadn't stayed; now he was worried that he was repeating the same mistake. Worse: he was worried that he had left her vulnerable.

She had been poisoned in Fangtasia whilst he had been there, what might be happening to her when he _wasn't_ there?

Deciding it was pointless for him to sit around worrying; he opened his window and took flight.

He had barely gotten a few blocks away when he heard a loud explosion from behind him; he turned in shock.

Someone had bombed Fangtasia.

At the sight of the burning building Eric's mind was wiped off all thoughts save one: _Pam_.

He set off to reach her with more urgency than before, now truly worried by what he might find.

Fangtasia could wait, Pam came first.


	7. Chapter 7

Eric took the fact that the house was still standing as a positive sign, but he panicked when he entered the bedroom and found it empty. A secondary sweep of the room, however, revealed that it wasn't empty; Pam was simply hiding under the covers.

Rushing to the bed he pulled off the blankets and, forgetting in his relief about her condition, he crushed her to him; grateful to find her alive and unharmed.

Her muffled groan brought him back to reality and he gently lay her back down on the bed.

"What's wrong with you?" she demanded hoarsely, curling up in the foetal position.

Eric wiped the bloody tears from his eyes that he hadn't noticed he'd shed, "I'm just so glad you're safe," he told her. "Fangtasia was bombed," he added.

Pam's eyes flew open and she gave him a searching look, "Are you all right?"

"Of course I'm all right," Eric said with a slight scoff, "besides, I was already on my way to you when it happened."

Pam's eyes slid closed again, "Shouldn't you be doing damage control?"

Eric gave a small shrug, "I guess, but I wanted to make sure you were safe first."

"I'm not an invalid," she protested.

Eric raised an eyebrow as he regarded her, she opened her eyes enough to shoot him a dirty look, "Shut up," she ordered.

"I didn't say a word," he responded, striving for an innocent tone.

"You didn't have to," she mumbled, hugging herself a little tighter and closing her eyes.

"I need to get you somewhere safe, if they bombed Fangtasia this house could become a target," he said thoughtfully. "It would have to be a human home, Sookie's is too dangerous: they would know to come there." He paused, "The home of any of the humans we know would be dangerous and an unknown human even more so…" he trailed off with a small growl of frustration.

"We don't even know who did this, Eric, nowhere will be safe until we do," Pam counselled quietly.

Eric growled again, louder this time, "I can't keep you safe," he muttered, half angrily, half apologetically.

"Stop thinking about that and worry about who is behind all this."

"I can't," he protested, "_you_ come before all else."

"The only way to keep me safe is to find the one who did this," she told him.

Eric nodded, recognising the truth to her statement. He started as he felt her slip away once more. There were still several hours before sunrise, but she must have been more exhausted than he thought.

Climbing into the bed he pulled her lifeless form flush against his and kissed her forehead, "I will keep you safe," he promised, his voice low with conviction.


	8. Chapter 8

"Sookie, so pleased to see that you've recovered from last night," Eric greeted her the following evening as she opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Sookie countered, ignoring his attempt at pleasantry.

"I need your help," he answered, dropping all attempts at small talk, "I need to find out who bombed Fangtasia and why. It might be the only way I can keep Pam safe," he added when Sookie looked doubtful.

"I don't see what I can do," Sookie told him, mulling over his request.

"You must have heard something whilst you were there," he pressed.

Sookie closed her eyes, trying to remember, "I really don't remember 'hearing' anything," she confessed, opening her eyes, "I left right after I spoke to you."

Eric cursed quietly, "You haven't heard anything elsewhere? Noth-" he was cut off as an acute feeling of pain and fear suddenly flashed through him, causing him to take a couple of steps back from the force of it.

"Eric?" Sookie asked, coming out onto the veranda with a concerned expression.

Eric ignored her as he followed the feelings to their source and was alarmed to find that he could feel nothing else, "Pam," he murmured, looking over at Sookie whose alarmed expression mirrored his own, before he took flight.

He should never have left her alone, he berated himself, she was still too weak, too vulnerable. If anything happened to her he would never-

His thoughts were cut off as he came within sight of his house or rather, what was left of his house.

"Pam!" he called out frantically, rushing into the burning embers. He searched everywhere but he could find no sign of her. He closed his eyes and tried desperately to reach out to her, but he felt nothing. Opening his eyes he surveyed the damage in horror as he came to grips with the grim reality.

Pam was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

In hindsight Eric decided that it was his grief over the loss of his child that had made it so easy for the half a dozen humans to capture him. He hadn't heard them coming and, when they had thrown a silver net around him, had barely even put up a fight.

Pam was gone and he couldn't seem to summon up the energy to care about anything else.

He gazed blankly at the opposite wall of the basement that he had been taken into, ignoring the men who were talking nearby. At the mention of Pam, however, his ears pricked up.

"I told you that striking at the bimbo would be to do the most damage," said one, he glance at Eric, "now we have truly brought him to his knees."

"It's true," said another, "poisoning her did serve to make him less cautious, it was much easier to bomb Fangtasia with him distracted."

"Killing her was the icing on the cake," said a third.

Eric bared his fangs.

"Oh-o, that got a reaction from him," commented the first, nodding in his direction, "don't tell me you actually did _care_ for blondie," he taunted.

Eric's only response was to snarl.

"Don't worry, you'll soon be joining her in hell," the second man assured him.

Eric narrowed his eyes, "I will have my revenge," he swore.

The men snickered, "Go ahead and try," the third taunted as, still snickering, the men left him to himself.

Once they were gone Eric tested his silver bonds, there was no way he was going to be able to escape on his own but with Pam gone he had no one to call to help him.

_Pam…_

At the thought of his dead child a searing pain coursed through him, much worse than that elicited from the bonds.

Pam's second death had brought him low, but he would be damned if he went without taking some of those responsible with him.


	10. Chapter 10

Eric had spent the last two days and nights awake which was why he dismissed the strange prickling at the back of his mind at first. But as the evening wore on and the prickling feeling grew into something more pressing he decided to focus on it.

The moment he did he felt relief flood through him.

Pam was alive.

From what little he could tell she was still hurting and weak, but she was _alive_ and that was all he cared about.

He tried to reassure her and send some of the relief that he was feeling in discovering that she was alive, but he was in so much physical pain now from the silver that it proved difficult. Especially as he was determined not to distress her further by allowing her to feel any of his own pain.

He felt her anxiety levels heighten and realised that he may not have been so successful at screening how he was feeling from her. Pam was always much better at shielding her feelings from him than he was at shielding his from her.

She claimed it was because she was female, he claimed it was because she didn't mind her own business (though when he had suggested that perhaps that amounted to the same thing she had slapped him).

He smiled a little at the memory but made his face carefully blank when he heard the men returning to the basement, there was no way he was going to let them know Pam was alive.

"Well, fanger," said one, "the time has come for you to join blondie."

Eric felt that he couldn't agree more, but decided to hold his tongue.

"Why me?" he asked instead, genuinely curious, as he watched them make their preparations to move him. "Out of all the vampires in the area, why single out me and my child?"

The men looked at each other before looking at him, "Because you're in a position of power amongst the vamps," a second man explained

"And one of the oldest," piped up another.

"So, you're an example," the other man continued, "your child was just a bonus," he added with a shrug.

As they cautiously made their way over to him, afraid of what he might do despite their bravado, Eric contemplated his next course of action. He couldn't let them find out that Pam was alive or they would kill her.

Eric didn't think he was strong enough to survive if she really was taken from him.

He had been prepared to sacrifice himself for his revenge, could he do the same to protect Pam?

Eric felt that he could.

He only hoped she would forgive him and not be stupid enough to try and avenge him.

...

**A/N: This _may_ seem a little OOC for Eric, but he has been awake for 48 hours or so and thought Pam was dead during this time, I figure this might have skewed his judgement slightly.**


	11. Chapter 11

Sookie regarded the recumbent woman on her couch with concern.

To say that she had been surprised to find Pam on the other side of her door would have been an understatement; although, in truth, it wasn't so much her presence but her appearance that had shocked her.

Barefoot and dirty, Pam had looked suspiciously like she had actually dragged herself to Sookie's rather than walked. The offer of clean clothes and a shower had been welcomed with quiet gratitude before Pam had all but collapsed on the couch.

Where she had remained, hugging herself and looking lost. She hadn't said a word about what had happened to her and Sookie could only guess what had happened to Eric to cause Pam to seek her out for help.

She started as Pam suddenly sat bolt upright, "I have to find Eric," she said with conviction.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Pam," Sookie counselled.

"I'll be fine," Pam insisted, standing up. "Or not…" she commented moments later as she swayed and ended up lying back down on the couch. She closed her eyes as a single blood-red tear trickled down her cheek, "I have failed him," she said so quietly that Sookie almost missed it, "perhaps he was right…I was a mistake."

Before Sookie could react to what she said Pam clutched at her stomach and rushed off to the bathroom. The sound of retching brought Sookie back to her senses and she rushed after her, only to find her on her knees by the toilet, vomiting up copious amounts of blood.

"Oh Pam," Sookie said softly, not knowing what else to say.

Pam slumped back against the wall with her eyes closed, "Please…find Bill…I…" Pam took a deep breath, "I need his help," she admitted, opening her eyes and looking up at Sookie.

Sookie was human enough that her first reaction to having to seek out her ex was a flat out refusal, but the words died on her lips at the sight of Pam looking so vulnerable. Sookie had never seen her admit a weakness and seeing her like this touched Sookie's heart and she found herself agreeing.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Sookie promised as she rushed out into the night.

It didn't take Sookie long to find Bill and she found him more willing to help than she had been anticipating.

They found Pam in much the same position as when Sookie had left. Upon seeing Bill, Pam struggled to her feet, using the cistern to support herself she spoke to Bill; quietly and rapidly so that Sookie couldn't follow their conversation.

"Absolutely not," Bill stated, suddenly returning to his normal volume and speed, breaking Sookie from the daydream she had fallen into whilst they were talking.

"I need her to help me find Eric," Pam insisted, some of her old fire showing in her face.

"It's too dangerous," Bill protested.

"Perhaps you should let Sookie decide for herself," Pam replied, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

"I'll do it," Sookie said, causing both vampires to look at her: Bill with a mixture of emotions that Sookie couldn't quite identify, whilst Pam just looked smug.

"Sookie, it's too dangerous," Bill told her.

Sookie lifted her chin defiantly, "I have told you before, Bill, you have no right to tell me what to do," she turned to look at Pam, "Pam needs my help and I intend to give it."


	12. Chapter 12

Eric considered the preparations for his final death dispassionately.

He had never really considered when, or if, he would die the final death though he had never thought he'd have this much ceremony attached to it. The men were intent in their work of setting up crucifixes and other religious symbols around the area that they had prepared for him.

His death would make quite a statement. He wondered absently whether he should feel flattered.

His head suddenly snapped up: _She wouldn't_, he thought to himself just before Bill and Jessica appeared in the midst of the men. Eric sighed mentally, _Yes…she would._

The men were short work for the two vampires and Eric soon felt himself being released, he turned and thanked Sookie absently, looking around for the one he knew had orchestrated this.

Sure enough he caught sight of Pam, slowly and painfully making her way towards him.

She looked like hell.

He was at her side in a moment, supporting her despite his own injuries. She gave him a half-hearted shove, "I don't need your help," she insisted, "you're the one who's injured."

"I really should punish you for this," he told her, ignoring her comments.

"You're welcome," she answered sarcastically.

Eric looked up from Pam to acknowledge Bill's presence, taking his arm from around Pam he shook hands with Bill, "This doesn't mean I like you," he told the other vampire.

Beside him Pam rolled her eyes and Jessica stifled a smile.

"I should get you home," Eric said, turning his attention back to Pam.

"Wherever that is," she muttered.

Eric smiled at her as he hugged her closer to his side, "Why, wherever you are, isn't that the usual sentiment?" he teased. He was rewarded by an elbow to the ribs, "May have deserved that," he allowed with a slight wince since she'd hit a sensitive spot.

"Thank you for looking after Pam," Eric said sincerely, turning to Sookie.

She smiled and gave a small shrug, "I really did very little," she demurred.

"You kept her safe when I could not, I am grateful," he said seriously before turning his attention once more to his child. "We should go, it will be dawn soon," he said, sweeping her into his arms and disappearing.

Sookie looked up in the direction she thought they'd gone, "Well, that's a side of Eric I never thought I'd see," she commented.

"You'll notice he still left us with all the mess," Bill said drily.

Sookie looked back at him with a small smile, "Tell me you wouldn't have done the same," she challenged.

"That's beside the point," Bill said, turning away to start cleaning up.

Sookie and Jessica shared a smile and an eye roll before pitching in as well.


	13. Chapter 13

"What do you mean you haven't eaten?" Eric demanded as he settled Pam down for the evening in one of his rental properties that was blessedly empty.

"I haven't been able to keep anything down," Pam replied evenly, ignoring the way Eric's fists clenched at her statement, "besides, I didn't wake up for two nights," she added.

"I know," Eric said shortly, moving from the bed to organise the window shutters, not wanting to be reminded of the longest two days of his existence.

He sighed as he returned to the bed. Sitting down on the edge he bit into his wrist and offered it to Pam, who recoiled. "Don't be stupid, Eric, you're still healing," she protested.

"I have already almost recovered; _you_ on the other hand have not, presumably because you have not eaten." He thrust his wrist at her again, "Now drink, woman," he ordered.

With one last defiant glare, Pam did as she was told. Eric relaxed as it seemed she would be able to keep it down this time. "That's better," he commented once she had finished.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she lay back down on the bed. He chuckled, "Hopefully this will enable you to recover," he commented before shaking his head as he lay down next to her. "You stupid girl," he told her, wrapping his arms around her, "why did you come for me?"

"How could I let you die?" she countered.

He kissed the top of her head, "Touché," he replied.

"I'm glad you're safe," Pam said in a small voice after a moment.

Eric tightened his hold on her and kissed her temple, "I'm glad you're mine," he told her.

She smiled and snuggled deeper into his embrace before slipping into blessed oblivion. Eric soon followed.

...

**A/N: Perhaps an odd place to end, but it just seemed to stop there for me. Hope you enjoyed it! :)**


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